Evening Update 06 Feb

French Riviera local news

July 14th - An attempt to have the city of Nice recognised as a civil victim of the July 14th attacks has been rejected by the Paris court. The application was lodged, so damage done to the attractiveness of the city, could be accounted for.

Store - A Bordeaux businessman has taken over the Galeries Lafayette franchise at the famous stores outlets in Cannes and Toulon. The management at the stores said the takeover will have no effect on jobs, and they will continue to trade as Galeries Lafayette.

Cold - A wave of cold weather, blowing in from Eastern Europe and affecting large parts of France, will also be felt on the Cote d’Azur. The cold air, colliding with the warmer atmosphere here, is set to bring heavy snow and rain right through to the weekend. It could also affect TGV services between here and Paris.

Carnival - Security measures for this year’s Nice Carnival have been ramped up once again, to include more security personnel on entrance gates, in addition to higher blackout panels, at a cost of €6 million. The measures are to protect the extimated half million visitors expected for the two week Carnival which starts on February 17th. Although a planned fireworks display to close the Carnival has been abandoned, Christian Estrosi has said he wants fireworks to return to Nice this year.

CPAM - Complaints are being made about CPAM’s decision to remove mailboxes from their offices, meaning people have to use the postal service to submit their claims. CPAM say the move is to allow all mail to be received at a single point, allowing for more efficient processing.

Macron - President Macron is making his first visit to Corsica today, and hearing the demands for nationalists on the island. However, unlike Barcelona where they are demanding independence, Corsican nationals are seeking greater autonomy and the release of what they call ‘political prisoners’.

BUSINESS

Markets remain volatile today, as US stock markets sank by 2% at the opening bell, only to recover minutes later, amid frantic Wall Street trading. Investors are nervous over the prospect of rising interest rates, which push up borrowing costs for companies and consumers. Earlier today, markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris had initial losses of up to 3%, before recovering some ground.

The value of Bitcoin continues to fall, with the crypto-currency hitting just below $6,000 a coin today. It has been falling steadily since a high of $19,000 last December. Several major US and UK banks have banned customers from using credit cards to purchase the digital currency and several countries tightened legislation in the area.

Industrial workers in south-western Germany, have won the right to reduced working hours, as part of a deal that could benefit millions of employees across the country. Workers will be able to reduce their weekly hours from 35 to 28, for up to two years, to look after their families. The deal, which covers almost one million workers could be extended to four million workers in Germany's industrial sector.

SPORT

Football - Former Everton manager Ronald Koeman has been appointed as manager of the Netherlands. Koeman, who was sacked by Everton last October, has signed a four-and-half-year contract, up to and including, the 2022 World Cup. He replaces Dick Advocaat who resigned after failing to guide the Netherlands to the 2018 World Cup.

Antonio Conte will not be sacked as Chelsea manager after last nights 4-1 defeat at Watford. Sources at Stamford Bridge, point to the fact Chelsea remain in the top four, and are still in the Champions League and FA Cup.

Rugby - Wales coach Warren Gatland has named an unchanged team to face England in the Six Nations at Twickenham this weekend. The New Zealander has stuck with the starting fifteen from the 34-7 win over Scotland, resisting a temptation to select ‘fit-again’ wing George North, who is on the bench.

Winter Olympics - Thirty-two Russian athletes have appealed against their exclusion from this years games, including many who had their life bans lifted last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A hearing is set to take place on Wednesday, two days before the Games.